This invention is concerned with an apparatus for individually dispensing a plurality of articles having means for storing and guiding the articles in the direction of an orifice for removal one-at-a-time.
In the past many devices for distributing articles have been described having means of feeding the articles and of selecting a single article to be dispensed which vary according to the nature and dimensions of the article.
For example in U.S. Pat. No. 3,040,929 which issued on June 26, 1962, an apparatus described for dispensing tablets, one-at-a-time, while the remaining tablets continue to be securely held in the apparatus. The dispenser comprises a container for the tablets which container has a row of teeth along each of its side walls. A cover and ram fit slidably over the container, the cover containing a "saw tooth" spine along the length of its central portion and the ram fitting over the rearward end of the spine so that when the cover is placed in position on the container, the ram will be in back of the tablets. The ram also contains a fixed pair of flexible pawls which prevent backward movement by engaging successive teeth of the "saw tooth" spine. When the cover is drawn back, one tablet is exposed at one end of the container and can be dropped out of the container by inverting it. At the same time, the upwardly directed pawl of the ram will engage the next forward tooth of the spine so that when the cover is moved forward to the closed position, the ram will move forward, thereby moving all of the remaining tablets forward.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,612,348 which issued on Oct. 12, 1971, a pill dispenser having a disposable magazine for one-at-a-time dispensing of pills is provided. The dispenser comprises a container in the form of a hollow cylindrical member open at one end and having an exit opening adjacent a closed end. An elongated bore within the container terminating at the exit opening in an elongated position is adapted to accept a disposable package. The disposable package is designed to support a plurality of pills within the container in order that the pills can be forced from the package and be removed from the exit opening. Depression of an actuator button acts to both move the pill support to its lower position thereby enabling the bottommost pill to be removed through an opening and to move the plunger downward against the pills. A spring member acts to return the pill support to its upper position. A finger on the plunger engages rachet teeth on the container to maintain the plunger fixed relative to the hollow member and disposable package when the button is moved in the upward direction by the spring.
The present invention provides a distributing device of simple construction and simple operation suitable for the direct unitary distribution of articles, particularly articles of small dimensions and of light weight such as test tubes made of plastic material, pharmaceutical products in the form of capsules, tablets or tablets packaged in plastic material, or edible products packaged in small plastic wrappers as for example confectioneries, sticks of chocolate, sweets, chewing-gum, etc.